The present invention relates to an illumination apparatus for Christmas trees, decorations, works of art, and ornaments with electrical, light-emitting elements and, more particularly, to illumination devices which are hung or fastened on the aforementioned objects or are built into these objects and supplied with necessary operating energy or electrical power.
In Christmas-tree, decorative, and artistic illumination devices of this general kind, a sufficient power supply is required to achieve a desirable brightness in the electrical incandescent bulbs which are most frequently employed. The incandescent lamps are connected by electrical conductors or cables either to the socket and the full line voltage, or to a low voltage through a transformer, a storage battery, or a dry battery.
In conventional Christmas-tree and decorative illuminations, it is necessary for all the incandescent bulbs to be connected together by electrical conductors which in turn, are connected by means of a double wire or cable to the 220-volt or 110-volt AC, 50 Hz or 60 Hz socket, or to a lower voltage, at the secondary of a transformer.
Under these conditions, the incandescent bulbs are wired in series when they are connected to the full 220- or 110-volt alternating current, and are connected in parallel when they are connected to a lower voltage, e.g. 12 volts. When works of art are illuminated externally or internally, the same power supply arrangement is required.
The absolutely necessary electrical connection of the individual incandescent bulbs to one another and also to the line socket with electrical conductors, insulated wires, double wires, or cables poses several disadvantages and problems.
The distribution and mounting of incandescent bulbs on Christmas-tree branches is limited and/or complicated by the connecting wires.
When connected in series to the 220- or 110-volt line voltage and one of the incandescent bulbs burns out, the circuit to all the incandescent bulbs is broken, unless each of the individual bulbs is provided with a special bridging fuse. The circuit is restored only when the defective incandescent bulb is replaced with a new one.
When the lights are connected to a line voltage of 220 or 110 volts, especially good electrical insulation of the conducting wires is required for safety reasons. When the incandescent bulbs are connected in parallel, they must be connected together by two conductors or a double wire. The double wire and electrical conductors must also exhibit good electrical insulation in order to prevent a short circuit, especially in damp conditions.
Conventional Christmas-tree and artistic illumination devices using connecting wires and/or connecting cables do not have an aesthetic appearance and are very difficult to mount in the desired locations.
Unpacking and putting away Christmas-tree lights in particular pose considerable disadvantages as a result of the continuous tangling of the electrical conductors, wires, double wires, and cables.